10 Super Bowl Lessons Learned By My Four Year Old This Year

My kids loved watching the Superbowl this year. But they also learned some important lessons... okay, maybe I had to explain them a little, but still ... lessons perhaps all of us can learn as well.


1. DO YOUR JOB. It does matter, even when no one may know who you are, your job matters.

2. Stay focused and don’t listen to the chirpers. They are out there to distract you. Let them chirp, you do what you need to do.

3. Stay in the moment to be the best you can at THAT moment, even when all odds and seconds are stacked against you.

4. Give credit to other members of your team. Every play counts towards the win.

5. It takes both older, experienced players and young, skilled players to create a great team.

6. Study and remember all the practices and plays. You may find it tedious to practice them over and over but one will come in handy before you know it.

7. Listen to your coaches. They have the whole story in mind, but know they are not infallible, just like you.

8. You may not get to meet every single person but know that there are always a huge number of fans/supporters that want you to succeed, use that energy to fuel you.

9. Tom Brady is an amazing athlete who still remembers to thank his parents.

10. Team loyalty is important, pick one and stand by them through thick and thin. If you are lucky and wicked smaarht, your team happens to be the New England Patriots.

----
Visit my site www.utopia46.com for more UX info!

iPhone Quick Tip of the Day

I hear this a lot lately - my iPhone battery sucks or my phone is chugging. Chances are you have a gazillion applications running that you didn't realize.

Here's the fix:
1. Hit the menu (round button) twice
2. All the icons you see highlighted at the bottom are running. Yes all of them. Touch one of the icons until it starts shaking and hit the (-) key to close the apps
3. Hit the menu key(round key) again to return to your screen

Don't worry you are not deleting the app - you are simply closing it. It's ok.

Still not sure? Watch this video on how to close down apps.

----
Visit my site www.utopia46.com for more UX info!

Pinterest 101 for You & Big Brands

Here it is - the quick 101 for all you late comers to Pinterest!

As per usual - do not be afraid of yet another social tool! Here are the facts:

Number of users: December 2011: 11 million
What is it: An image sharing network (old schoolers - think of bulletin board with magazine pics all over it)
Why should you care: How many times have you seen a piece of content on the web that catches your attention and you want to keep it but don't want to bookmark the entire site - just need the image. Voila
What's social about it: Other people can see what you have pinned and can repin, like or comment.
How is it different from posting to Facebook: Sometimes you just don't want to share - you just want to pin it to your board.
Why do I care what other people are pinning: Inspiration can be found EVERYWHERE
How do I do it: Go to Pinterest.com and sign up. Grab the Pin It button and drop it in your tool bar - sample instructions here if you are unclear.
How do I pin: Anytime you are on a page with images or video that you want to save, click the Pin It button in your tool bar. You will be presented with content that can be saved - simply select and tag what is of interest to you!
What brands utilize Pinterest: Gap, West Elm, Etsy, Whole Foods, Chobani
What should brands keep in mind if utilizing Pinterest: Make it about the lifestyle - not the products. Post content that bring the brand essence to life.
Still confused? USA TODAY did a great write up of the features. Check it out!

Here's My Pinterest Board!

Google +1 - Quick Facts & 101

Ok so what’s Google +1 and does it make sense?

Whether you are a marketer or just an average Internet user you've seen or heard about the Google +1 button.  Basically, +1 acts like the Facebook share or Twitter tweet button with some slight additions - it affects search rankings. A pretty important differentiator.

So think of +1′s as votes. Whenever someone +1′s a website, it counts as a sort of recommendation and shows up next to the page in Google’s search results. The more +1 in your contact circle the higher the ranking in the search results.

Why should I care?

What Google is trying to do is make the search more relevant to you. If your friends have +1 something - you are more apt to click on that link because your friends have already validated the link and it will show up higher in the search rank.

How does it know me and my friends?

You must be logged into your Google account in order to use Google +1. Yes, you need a google account, of course. It basically then pulls from your contact list.

So how is all this information relevant to me? 

Well, if you’re just the average Google user then this information probably won’t help you. If you were simply curious about all these obscure +1 buttons showing up everywhere, you now know what they do and there is no reason for you to carry on reading.

BUT if you are corporation or organization you should take note and consider implementation because let’s face it, natural SEO doesn’t work very well and Google’s algorithm isn’t always fair. So play the game, leverage automated tools and stick to what works.

So what are some con's?

It is still gaining steam - so the verdict isn't in yet, but these are some of the issues I see:

Confusing: We already have "Like" for Facebook, "Follow" for twitter, "digg" for digg and now one more to add to the bunch with +1.

UX (User Experience) Issues: When reading an article and you like what you are reading - the natural reaction is to Like the button - not +1 it - the naming on +1 is not that intuitive - so adoption may be slow.

Limited Reach: Your +1's are only shared with your gmail contacts. Not anyone else - so this is very limited and if folks really want to endorse content, they are more likely to use tools that have a wider reach (via Facebook, Twitter etc.)

Shareability: When you +1 you are not really sharing content. So what I mean is clicking on Facebook "Like" will get you the updates about the page on your newsfeed. +1 just goes to your Gmail profile which nobody looks at. So it's not shared, it's deposited in your profile, ick.

So in summary +1 is not all that user friendly and may not make complete sense to the individual user. Where I see the benefit though is for companies implementing the widget on their site so that their ranking will increase in Google search.

Still confused - here's a video that explains it more visually!

Oh and if you are in the mood - don't forget to +1 this page for me :)